Diane+Main+LMF

//Learning Motivation and Fun//
 //View// the assignment page //for a more detailed explanation of this project.// ===Overview: Since I teach grades one through eight and am a parent as well, I am very interested in what motivates students. I am also intrigued by society's assumptions about teens, especially regarding their gender differences where learning is concerned. Therefore, I decided to look at both males and females, ages 10-19, and see how they compared on certain aspects of learning, motivation, and fun. What was interesting about choosing these groups is that we had 22 videos about males aged 10-19 and 22 videos about females aged 10-19, so making comparisons felt safe, if only because I was basing it on the same number of "responses." When I work with students in this age range, I find that some of the factors that make learning fun and engaging for them are peer interaction, competition, cooperation, social recognition, and physical activity. If a learning opportunity can resemble a church youth group or street gang, it seems to appeal to them.===

1. Girls are VERY motivated by getting to interact with their peers, whereas boys don't seem to crave peer interaction as much.
Of the 22 females featured in these videos, only 2 (9.1%) shared an experience that involved NO peer interaction. Seven (31.8%) had experiences involving "a little" peer interaction, and 13 (59.1%) discussed activities involving "a lot" of peer interaction. Among the 22 males interviewed in this age range, their experiences showed a different distribution: 7 (31.8%) for "none," 3 (13.6%) for "a little," and 12 (54.5%) for "a lot." This appears to show that, while peer interaction was more significant to females, over half of males still shared memories with a lot of peer interaction. It would seem that peer interaction is a major motivator to both genders of tweens and teens.
 * ~ Peer Interaction ||~ Females ||~ Males ||
 * ~ None || 2 (9.1%) || 7 (31.8%) ||
 * ~ A little || 7 (31.8%) || 3 (13.6%) ||
 * ~ A lot || 13 (59.1%) || 12 (54.5%) ||

2. Boys are more competitive than girls and will be more motivated by activities that feature competition.
The results on this are surprising. As you can see from the chart below, a clear majority of males actually shared memories of experiences where competition was low. "Low" was also the largest group for girls, but by a smaller margin. Perhaps when learning is at stake, males want to put their competitiveness aside and focus on the fun and learning. Or maybe they start out in the activity wanting to compete, but then they find that they have more fun and/or learn more when they relax and have fun. My experience has shown me that boys who lose are more likely to cry than girls, so maybe taking the possibility of losing "off the table" helps boys feel more confident in learning.
 * ~ Competition ||~ Females ||~ Males ||
 * ~ Low || 9 (40.9%) || 13 (59.1%) ||
 * ~ Medium || 6 (27.3%) || 4 (18.2%) ||
 * ~ High || 7 (31.8%) || 4 (18.2%) ||

3. Boys tend to be competitive, while girls tend to cooperate better.
Again, the results based on our limited interviews do not bear out this generalization. While the males were a bit more "divided" than the females on how much cooperation took place in their fun learning experiences, cooperation was equally high for both genders in the memories they shared. A few more males than females indicated that "low" cooperation occurred for them. I would guess, based on my own experiences, that cooperation tends to add to the fun because depending on someone else and being depended upon raises one's self-esteem by the sheer idea that we're not in this alone.
 * ~ Cooperation ||~ Females ||~ Males ||~  ||
 * ~ Low || 8 (36.4%) || 9 (40.9%) ||
 * ~ Medium || 6 (27.3%) || 4 (18.2%) ||
 * ~ High || 8 (36.4%) || 8 (36.4%) ||

==4. Beginning in around fourth or fifth grade, recognition by peers becomes a more highly important motivator than pleasing parents or teachers. Girls are more prone to seek such recognition (from peers and teachers) than boys are.== Social recognition did appear to be a motivator for about three-fourths of both males and females in our group. High social recognition seemed to be slightly more important to females than to males, but the difference is small between the genders. I think it is safe to say that social recognition does play a significant part in motivation, but that there is not a noticeable gender difference. Who doesn't like to be recognized for their efforts?
 * ~ Social Recognition ||~ Females ||~ Males ||~  ||
 * ~ Low || 6 (27.3%) || 5 (22.7%) ||
 * ~ Medium || 8 (36.4%) || 10 (45.5%) ||
 * ~ High || 8 (36.4%) || 6 (27.3%) ||

5. Boys prefer to be more active than girls.
It's not that these figures debunk this assertion, but rather it would appear that females may prefer to be less active than males, while males appeared to prize low, medium, and high activity levels almost equally. The females in this age range reported low physical activity for a little over half the experiences they shared in the video interviews. I think this can be tied to the social experience, and shows up on the playground during recess at my school when I am out walking for exercise. A lot of guys are playing basketball and soccer, and a lot of girls have found shady spots to sit and talk. It's not that the girls don't like to be active, but more that boys can be social while they play and move around, whereas girls seem to want to focus on just the social interaction.
 * ~ Physical Activity ||~ Females ||~ Males ||~  ||
 * ~ Low || 12 (54.5%) || 8 (36.4%) ||
 * ~ Medium || 4 (18.2%) || 8 (36.4%) ||
 * ~ High || 6 (27.3%) || 6 (27.3%) ||

===Implications: While I hesitate to draw any real "conclusions" based on this limited data, I think it's safe to say that all of these factors should be considered when this age range is one's audience. Opportunities for both cooperation and competition are motivating. Perhaps teams (as opposed to individuals) could compete against one another to enable both. Interaction and recognition both appear to be important, so within their teams, a requirement to communicate with and validate the other team members can be an excellent motivator. Finally, some degree of physical activity can be motivating, or at least energizing, but it should not be forced into every exciting learning experience. If it fits the activity, great. But if it would be too much of a "stretch" to include it, one could leave it out and still appeal to a majority of the learners.===

===I think that putting students into teams can be useful on many levels. Making the entire team's success a priority forces the members of the team to work together. If competition is not available as an option, students or teams can try to "beat their own personal best" or compete with themselves or the team's own history. On the recent Outdoor Education trip I attended, the entire sixth grade was divided up into three groups that spent most of each day together, for all four days. Each team member carried part of the group's lunch. When the students gathered into a circle to listen to the instructor, either the kids or the adults earned a point based on whether the students achieved the goal quickly. They began to encourage and help one another to form the circle quickly. We were hiking all day, so there was a lot of physical activity, and the kids enjoyed being outdoors to do it. And since we were not in classrooms in a formal setting, the kids got to relax and spend time getting to know one another. I also got to know them better, and they got more of my attention than they normally do. So much about this experience was motivational and fun, and they learned a lot of content at the same time.===